'A poor choice': Alberta lawyer reprimanded for allowing nude photos in custody case
A hearing committee of the Law Society of Alberta says there are reasonable and probable grounds to believe that a lawyer may have committed a criminal offence after “explicit and nude” photos of a woman were included as part of an affidavit in a custody case.
The self-governing body has reprimanded lawyer Karen Herrington of Sherwood Park, Alta., for bringing the administration of justice into disrepute and failing to provide competent legal services. She has been reprimanded and ordered to pay $5,400 in costs.
Herrington was representing the husband in a common-law custody dispute.
The law society says the husband sent an affidavit to Herrington that was aimed at preventing his former partner from leaving the province and included intimate photos of her.
Herrington asked other members of her law firm what she should do, but ultimately decided to include the pictures in the affidavit, the regulator says.
“It was thought by Ms. Herrington that the pictures showed a pattern of behaviour from the wife and that she needed the affidavit for the emergency application the next morning,” Ryan Anderson, writing on behalf of a three-person hearing committee of the law society, says in the ruling.
“She consulted other lawyers in her office for their advice and made this decision to proceed. This does not leave Ms. Herrington blameless, but goes to show this was not a simple situation,” he said.
“Ms. Herrington appears to be a capable lawyer who made a poor choice.”
The opposing lawyer asked that the nude photos of his client be removed. They were blacked out before being filed in court.
Herrington admitted her guilt in that she failed to provide legal services to the standard of a competent lawyer and said it was an error to include the pictures.
The committee's decision says Herrington did not know the nude photos had been added to the affidavit by her client until the afternoon or day before the emergency application, and she could not alter the affidavit because her client had already sworn it.
A lawyer for Herrington noted that she “felt she was stuck in a difficult situation of proceeding with the application and relying on the affidavit or not meeting her client obligations. This was an emergency mobility application that required quick action,” the decision says.
The decision says counsel for the law society noted that Herrington's actions potentially contravened the Criminal Code, which prohibits the publication of an intimate image without consent. They recommended the file be sent to Alberta's solicitor general.
“The committee finds that there are reasonable and probable grounds that Ms. Herrington contravened Section 161.1 of the Criminal Code and as such we are obligated to make a referral to the solicitor general,” the panel says.
“Ms. Herrington may very well have a defence but that is not up to our committee to decide.”
The decision says Herrington's counsel “indicated that there was nothing criminal about the affidavit as it met the test for the public good under the Criminal Code.” The decision notes there is a public good defence under the Criminal Code in the section that deals with the publication of intimate images.
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the office of Solicitor General Kaycee Madu. Strathcona Law Group, where Herrington works, also had no immediate comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.